Transitioning from FP&A to M&A
For the past seven years I've worked in FP&A but have come to realize that this isn't the career path for me. Rather, I have decided that I want to transition to M&A, whether it be in-house or with a bank. My question -- and I haven't been able to find much information on this -- is if such a transition can be made. And if so, what would be the most efficient way to do it? To give you some background on myself, I am 32 years old and have a finance degree. I have not been to grad school but would definitely consider an MBA if that's what would be required to make this transition. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.
MBA is probably the path of least resistance to IB for someone in your position. Some top schools (HBS, Stanford) are purported to have an age bias and you may be too old for them, but other top schools don't have the same bias and are possible - biggest question is whether you'd want to start IB at the associate level at 34-35 (assuming you do an MBA first)
I don't think I'd have a problem with it but my concern is that some places may be hesitant to hire a 35 year old associate. From the research I've done, I'd probably have a better shot of getting into a boutique or middle market bank versus one of the big guys. I just want to make sure that this is doable before putting myself in six figures worth of debt.
Have you tried making the transition from FP&A to corp dev(internal M&A) before getting an MBA?
That's actually the area I've been currently focusing my search. However, it seems like most of those positions want someone with an investment banking or management consulting background. I'm going to take a 3-day financial and valuation modeling course in July that I will then put on my resume in the hopes that it will make me more appealing for those types of positions.
FP&A junior analyst here wanting to make the same move. I have found a few corp dev roles on job boards that don't seem to require an IB or consulting background. But then again they could still be snagged by those with that background.
Maybe your best bet is to try move internally. I know it's happened at least once in my company in the past 15 years.
My company is quite small and does not have a corporate development position so an internal move is not a possibility, unfortunately.
I'm actually in a similar situation and looking to make the shift to Corporate Development and do more M&A work. Not sure what career level you are in, but it definitely gets harder to change if you target manager or above. If you are a junior analyst or SFA, then I think the move is completely plausible granted you gain eventually go the MBA route. For a mgr+ it is likely that you will have to take a significant pay cut once you change, especially if not within same industry.
The options that I have considered are to leverage the current industry experience to land a job within FP&A but with more financial modeling/strategy (no reporting) and some cooperation with perhaps a CD or BD group. It would not be i-bank M&A though. I am actually considering this as my best option.
You could still change companies to a place that has a CD or BD group and go for an EMBA while you work. The cons to this is it will set you back six figures and most programs don't prioritize to help you shift careers. Even top 10 would prefer you stay within your current career path to maximize the value of the program and network.
Another option that I have also considered, which sounds like what you are asking, is aiming for a top MBA full-time. This is obviously the most expensive option and unlikely to get you anything higher than an associate, but the growth potential would be substantially better than the current path and hopefully one could easily grow out of it.
I wonder how others in their 30's trying to change careers have fared after MBA and a few years as associate (or similar) at a consulting firm or i-bank...
Hi Justin, I found your post when i was researching on how i can transition from fp&A to M&A and could completely relate to your message here. I work as a financial analyst in corporate finance but FP&A work gets so repetitive and im so bored of it. I have even begun pursuing my CPA inorder to make a switch. Can you please share how you went about switching roles? Thanks.
CPA isn’t really needed to go to M&A - it’s the MBA that is the game changer.
If you do not like repetitive process work then you will dislike m&a because it is basically process work, VDR management, building IM and pitchbooks, working group calls all day and ppt in the evening.
After 1/2 transactions the process is the same for each sell side!
Has anybody had success with this? I'm in a similar situation as well, went from industry accounting > fp&a > some corp fi + m&a at a small software company. Would like to leverage 4.5 years of XP into a mid market sell side firm. Any advice?
Judging by his post history, he isn't active on here anymore... looking elsewhere, though, looks like he got the job done via MBA. Big ups, brother.
Did you ever make it?
No I didn't
Sorry to hear that. What are you up to now?
Aut quia ut molestias accusantium. Illum eos qui et aut unde exercitationem sint. Officiis et ratione ratione minima.
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